Day 1's last chapter here, and it's the longest one yet! Took me even less time even! Important notes at the bottom.
Edit: 1/13/19: Just changing a bit of what Whimsley says to Paz. Some of it wasn't sitting right with me. I felt like I could make him a bit more suspicious in that conversation.
The Games Rich People Play
Chapter 9: Of Games and Gambits
Jonouchi grabbed the shoulders of the hysterical girl. "Hold on, Anzu! I know you wanna find Yugi, but can you at least tell us what the heck is going on? Why is Yugi going to do something he'll regret?"
"I-I-I…. I can't say. Not… not like this…"
Jonouchi and Honda stared at her in worried confusion.
Kaiba found the whole situation irritating. If she'd simply calm down and say, then this situation would go far smoother.
Of course, it bothered him even more that he was so invested in their plight. The fact that he would begin to grow unnerved by turning the other way to another's problems was foreign feeling to him.
Still, he figured he might quell that feeling for now. Especially since he had a good inkling what was behind Yugi's mysterious disappearance. "Enough of this nonsense." He gestured to the others observing the debacle. "Stop gawking and search. It won't be hard to find him with that ridiculous hair of his. Be on the lookout for Pacifica. You find one, you find the other." He threw two small devices at Ben and Danny.
"Whoa. Those comms look pretty high tech." Julie said, scrutinizing them with one eye, but instead passing it to Rook. He pressed something on it, and suddenly a small heads up display appeared."
"Yep. Definitely wouldn't get bad service with these." Billy nodded.
"You find them, you contact me. Don't interact with him otherwise."
"Hold on a second!" Sam shouted. "What exactly is going on? You can't just have us search without telling us what's happening!"
Ben crossed his arms. "I have to agree with Sam. You seem to know a lot more than you're letting on. It'd be nice to know what's happening."
"The only thing you need to know… is that we're trying to stop him from finding Pacifica's parents, ideally. In reality, he's likely already found them, and our best effort is damage control." Anzu looked at Kaiba with wide eyes.
Ben stared at him for a moment. "Alright, I remember which direction I saw Pacifica's family going. Come on." Everyone followed the young teen until they stopped at a fork in the road. Three hallways stood before them. "We'll have to split up in those hallways to find them. Search any room you can find. If it's locked, listen in for their voices."
"On it. Come on, Sam." Danny pulled his girlfriend along. She glared at Kaiba for another second as she was lead away.
"Jules, Rook, let's get a move on. We may not be able to use our powers, but we still got long legs. I say we use 'em." The two nodded. Ben gave one quick look to Kaiba as well, before heading into a separate hallway.
"Well, I say we go down this way." Jonouchi said, pointing to the last possible hallway their quarry could be. He, Honda, Anzu and Mokuba set down for the last hallway-
"Guys…" Anzu began. But she was too quiet, too nervous. They didn't seem to notice… all except for Kaiba.
"Anzu." The four turned their attention to Kaiba. "Yugi… he's been possessed by shadow magic, hasn't he?"
Jonouchi, Honda and Mokuba gasped. Anzu's eyes drifted to the floor. "…Yes."
"What?!" Jonouchi shouted, prompting Honda to clamp a hand over his mouth.
Mokuba shook off his shock. "I thought we were done with that stuff after the Aigami incident!"
"Clearly not." Kaiba huffed.
"How could this have happened… and why do you know about it, Anzu?" Honda questioned as Jonouchi took his friend's hand off his mouth.
Anzu clutched her arms. She felt everyone's stares on her, expecting an answer. Yugi didn't want them to know like this… but at this point, his safety was more important. "It was… it was right as the Aigami incident ended. When Atem saved Yugi."
"Hold on, he's not back in Yugi's body again, is he?" Jonouchi asked, not understanding.
"No. Atem's spirit has moved on. Defeating Aigami was an exception, and nothing else. But… that's the thing. Atem knew he couldn't keep coming out of the spirit world to save us like that. And… he knew Yugi would have won had Aigami's shadow magic not affected him. So before he left again… he gave Yugi a way to face any supernatural threats from then on." Anzu finally brought her eyes back up to her friends. "Atem gave Yugi the ability to use shadow magic."
Everyone's jaws dropped, sans Kaiba. He simply 'hmphed' and started down the hallway. That seemed to help the others snap out of it as they began to follow, but they stayed quiet for a little bit.
Jonouchi was the first to speak again. "Why didn't Yugi tell us?"
"He was going to. At the end of the week. He didn't want to worry anybody."
"So, when did you find out?" Honda pressed.
"He came to visit. He was in town to help promote a KaibaCorp location in New York. We…caught up. He didn't tell me at first, but then… well, remember that stalker I told you guys about?"
Jonouchi and Honda thought back to their talk in the limo. Jonouchi snapped his fingers. "You said you had a friend help you catch him… that was Yugi?"
"That explains why he was so uncomfortable when you talked about it." Honda connected.
Mokuba began to ponder. "But… this still doesn't explain why Yugi disappeared."
"Yugi doesn't have control over his powers yet. When he sees something heinous happen or feels someone evil overall… the shadow magic takes over."
"Just like the first few times Atem took over!" Jonouchi pieced together.
"And when Pacifica's dad used that bell…" Honda started.
Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "He signed his own death warrant."
Pacifica sat there, still stuck within her own mind. Bad memories played one after another, warping her sense of reality. She was shaking as if she had been in a blizzard.
Her parents talked in the meantime. "How are we getting out of this, Preston?!"
"I told you to SHUT UP! Okay… okay… let's see… We'll just need several briberies… yes, briberies! I'm sure some of Whimsley's servants won't mind fattening their wallets a bit more." He reasoned to himself.
"What about Pacifica? She's a liability to us like this!"
"Oh, she'll get over it! I have more important things to worry about!" He said dismissively. "Hmm… this is probably the first time in years I'll have to use pappy's instructions on burying bodies…"
Completely unnoticed by the two squabbling, the door opened, oddly without a sound. Yugi entered, heading straight for Pacifica. The door behind him locked.
The young girl had yet to recover, still suffering. But as he arrived next to her, the eye on his forehead lit up once more.
He spoke, and only Pacifica seemingly heard his voice. "Don't worry, Pacifica. Your friends are with you, even if they aren't physically here. I know from experience… but I also know the darkness of this trauma inflicted upon you by others will cover their memories like a shroud. Let me help you dispel the clouds in your mind."
The memory of Bruce Wayne giving her the card for a professional therapist appeared, reminding her how man on top of the world took the time to express concern.
The moments in which a infatuated, but sincere Billy Billions wished to help her.
The points at which Sam had warmed up to her, finally letting go of her 'mean girl' suspicions.
The images of Kaiba being a stern yet powerful influence.
The antics of Yugi and the others, that made her feel at home.
The words of Ben telling her that everyone she had met would be there for her, even if they had only just met her.
And then… the people she remembered in Gravity Falls.
"Ah, what's the matter, Dazzly Paz?" Miss Hollenday wiped away her tears, unaware of Pacifica's punishment for tracking mud into the silver room. "Hush, love. I can dry those tears for you. I'll make you the best shepherd's pie, one my mum used to make me."
"Come on, Pacifica! Mabel may not be here, but we will take over midnight in her honor." "YEAH! With our powers combined, we will own EVERYONE on this dance floor!" Candy and Grenda said as they pulled her onto the dance floor.
"You're something else, dude." Wendy told her as they sat on a bruised and battered ogre. She pulled the girl in for a tight side hug. "You ever want to hang out, I'm always up for it. A camping trip, lumberjack lessons, apocalypse training… I'll show you all the ropes. Consider me… your official big sister, Paz."
"Hey Dood! Whatcha standing in the rain for?" The handyman pulled up beside her in his truck. "Come on, my abuelita's making me and Melody some amazing tacos! Don't deny it, Mabel already told me you like tacos! Ha Ha!"
"Why hello there, Pacifica! You'll have to excuse the smoke, I had to immolate myself to deal with a swarm of nasty lizard-spiders. Horrifying things, you know. But it had to be done so I could get this!" Ford held up a large bag of silk. "Lizard-spider silk reacts to the wearers thoughts, changing color and textures at will! It's supposed to be your birthday present, but it will need to be sewn together by the Spider-Queen of the southern caves. It could take until say… Spring break for her to finish." He gave a weak chuckle. "Listen, I know you didn't want me to do anything about it after Mabel accidentally told me, but… well, let's just say Stanley and I never did find that special someone we were able to stay with. I think you and Dipper can make it in this crazy, anomaly filled world."
Stan tapped her shoulder with his eight-ball cane. "Hey kid, you just gonna stand out here? I know you miss my niece and nephew, but watching how idiots get suckered into this tourist trap is even less interesting than watching paint dry. Look, if it makes you get off my porch, Ford and I are calling them to catch up in a few hours, and we'll need someone who can bear talking about Pukeymans or whatever." He entered back through the front door, but stopped. "You know, if you do some sweeping up around in the store, I'll let you get an ice cream or something out from the shop."
"Come on, Pacifica! Me and the ladies are going out for a great time at the mall! That dreamboat from the new romance movie "Oops! I dropped all my books!" is going to be there! We're heading over right now for autographs and potential restraining orders! After that, we're heading to the see the movie, before ending off the night with a slumber party! You're going to get the full "Mabel Friend" experience!" She took Pacifica's hands into hers. "Oh, don't give me that face. You and I are buddies now, through thick and thin."
"Pacifica, you gotta stop worrying about what others think." Dipper advised her, as they sat in the burlap sack. "…You're smart, creative, confident… Forget about your dumb family. Ever since you saved me at Northwest Manor, I've noticed another side of you. I think I see the real Pacifica… and you're more than just a pretty face."
Pacifica gasped for air, tears streaming down her eyes. She felt like she had just been freed from a prison of fire and crushing pressure. She struggled to speak, as if her voice had been taken from her. As her breathing calmed and the sweat stopped pouring from her head, she looked at her new surroundings. Now, emerging from a wide-awake nightmare would already put a damper on someone's evening. But realizing she had been taken against her will by her ass of a father plummeted Pacifica's mood underground.
"Y…you… bastard…"
Her father gave a quick glance at the girl. "Hmph. I was wondering when you'd stop shedding crocodile tears."
"Fuck… off…" She bitterly said.
"You want to use that language with me, after what just occurred? Perhaps if it bothered you so much, you'd care if I use it again." He threatened.
"Please, there isn't a need to be hostile. There are other ways of solving this problem."
The two parents jumped at the voice, finding the spiky-haired shorty sitting by the large table in the room. (1)
"Yu…gi?" Pacifica was hopeful at first… but her heart paused when she saw Yugi's eyes. There was a darkness behind them that stopped her cold.
"What the- what are you doing here?! What gives you the right to invade our privacy?!"
Yugi simply chuckled. "Oh, just here to make an offer."
Pacifica was shocked at the voice that came out of his mouth. It was far darker than how Yugi had sounded earlier. Not only that, she remembered hearing him speak to her in her mind. Who else could do something like that?
There was no doubt about it, now. She had hoped it wasn't him. But Yugi had clearly been possessed by the most dreaded creature she'd ever known. She had gone from one nightmare to another.
Bill Cipher had returned.
Pacifica's parents stared at the young man, completely baffled. "Don't come in here and say such preposterous things! I'm not in the mood for jokes! GET OUT!" Preston slapped a hand over his mouth and listened to the door.
"Ah, yes. Shout more. Get their attention. Makes no difference to me, honestly. I was only here to offer you a way out." Yugi had taken a bottle of wine from a cabinet, pouring himself a glass. "But if you'd rather ignore it…"
"A way out?" Preston squinted. "What are you on about?"
Yugi sat down at a chair facing a small table. Another chair was situated on the opposite side, one he gestured to. "Sit down and I'll tell you."
Preston did so, his interest piqued through a mix of desperation, amusement, and curiosity. "Alright. How can one man help me get out of this mess?"
"I have some interesting abilities, Mr. Northwest. All of them powered by magic."
"Magic?"
"Yes. And using my magic abilities, I could easily alter people's minds so that they don't notice you escape. Or… better yet… I could make them forget all your wrongdoings."
'He… he wants to make a deal with my father. What could he possibly get out of my dad?' Pacifica thought, lacking the energy to interfere.
Luckily, this claim only seemed to upset Preston. He was expecting a person with powerful connections, not a boy who could pull rabbits of hats. "Well, that is certainly the claim. And a load of…" He stopped himself, biting his lip. "Anyway, I have little time for your jokes." He began to get up.
"Ah, but I can prove it to you." Yugi pulled out his duel monsters deck. From the deck, he took a card named Sentry Soldier of Stone. "This monster shall now come to life and attack you."
"And here I was to assume you wanted me to pick a card. What next, are you going to saw my wife in ha-ha-HAAAAAAAAAAA!" Preston shouted, being suddenly picked up by a giant stone hand. He dangled around, frantically waving his arms and legs. He stopped when he noticed the rock monster's face looking right at him.
Pacifica looked at the creature in horror. Dipper had told her many things about the triangle, but he had been clear to note that he had none of his power while possessing someone. What was going on?
Yugi snapped his fingers and the monstrous apparition disappeared, dropping Preston to the floor. He was shaken, but otherwise alright.
"Do you believe me now?" Yugi grinned.
"Erm… yes." Preston dusted himself off and fixed his clothing, sitting back into the chair. "So, what are the details of this deal?"
"I will manipulate the minds of those chasing you to completely absolve you of your crimes. However… I will not do so for free."
"Of… of course. How much would you like to be billed?" If it was one thing he learned tonight, it was that he should most certainly pay powerful individuals.
"No money. If you want me to help you… you must play a game."
"A game?" Preston asked incredulously. Pacifica was feeling the same way. What was Bill up to? When he wanted something, he would just make a straight deal. This wasn't his style.
"Ah, but not just any game. A Yami no Game… or as you Americans would call it, a Shadow Game." He swirled the wine around in his cup. "If you win this game, I will do as I've told you- I'll help you escape from this mess. But if you lose… you and your wife will willingly tell the world of your crimes and suffer a penalty."
Preston was once again turned off from the idea. "Now hold on a minute. I'm not risking so much on a game you get to dictate."
"Ah, but that's the best part, Preston." He pointed at the Northwest. "You are the one who gets to pick the game, and which type of it we play- at all times. The only constants are that we must play three rounds, each round played with the exact rules listed- not changing. That, and that the rules must be explained."
Preston raised an eyebrow at the short boy. He would get to determine the parameters of the game they played?
Priscilla could only stand behind her husband and look on. Meanwhile, Pacifica was a little less confused about the setup. "Okay, so there's still a catch… even so, when Bill makes a deal, he just does it. He doesn't beat around the bush like this."
Preston, who had been pondering on Yugi's words, grew a sickly smile. If he could choose the game, then he could pick any game this brat couldn't possibly understand. And he remembered just the game from his youth to play.
"Alright then, boy. I accept your deal."
"Are you sure? Your wife seems nervous about such an agreement."
"What she thinks is none of my concern. Isn't that right?" Preston asked her. Priscilla nodded, but… not with all that much confidence. "Now then, let me see…" Preston got up and began searching through the various cabinets, taking time to ensure everything there could be used. Yugi watched as he brought over a cloth and a box of numerous buttons. Before he did anything else, he set the cloth down and began drawing, Yugi observing with a straight face. The finished drawing looked like an outline of a plus sign, divided as five squares. Each square had been bisected diagonally, horizontally and vertically, creating a simple pattern. Preston then meticulously picked out buttons from the box, until he had 13 white buttons and one large brown one. "There we are. Now then, young man. This is the game of Fox and Geese. The rules are quite simple."
Preston gestured to each item as he talked about them. "There are thirteen geese and one fox. The goal of the geese is to surround the fox so that it can no longer move. The goal of the fox is to take enough geese so that they cannot surround the fox. Simple rules, no?"
"Indeed."
"We shall do series of three rounds. Obviously, two out of three takes the whole thing." Preston took a coin out of his pocket. "We flip to determine who is the fox. I choose heads." He flipped the coin, looking at the result in his hand. "Hmm. Tails. Lucky you."
Setting up the game, Preston held the geese on his side, with the fox on Yugi's side. Yugi looked at the configuration before him before looking back up at Preston. His sinister smile returned.
"Game start."
"Mazuma, are you sure your scanners aren't picking up anything?" Billy asked.
"It's as I told you, Mr. Billions. Something's interfering with my scanners. My readings are all over the place."
"Well, this is just perfect. Pacifica's in trouble and I can't even find her at all."
"Perhaps, sir, it may be time to consider fully cooperating with Ben Tennyson."
"Pacifica just said I had to play nice with him. That doesn't mean I have to go groveling to him for help." Billy growled.
"True, Mr. Billions. But we are out of options. If we do not team up with him, Pacifica could be hurt even more before we find her." Mazuma argued. "Plus, would she not be happy if you were to show that you are getting along with Tennyson?"
"Well… you… I…" Billy groaned, defeated by her reasoning, and equally pushed down by his flustered thoughts. "You know, sometimes I hate how smart I made you. Fine, we'll go get his help."
Mazuma nodded. "They are just up ahead."
It didn't take long to catch up to Ben, and Billy saw him emerge from a room. The teen noticed Billy approaching, and raised an eyebrow.
Billy looked at him and grimaced. "So… Mazuma's scans can't find them."
Ben smirked. "And?"
"And I'm getting frustrated at being unable to find Pacifica."
"And?"
"And as much as I'd like to smash your face in for being so smug about this…" He took a deep breath. "I need your help."
"There we go. Well, we haven't much luck either. Rook even ended up walking in on a couple… uh… well, let's just say they forgot to lock the door."
"I requested that we never speak of that again." Rook came out from another room, a blush on his face.
Julie in turn came from a corner. "Still nothing."
Billy balked. "Seriously? Can't you turn into an alien or something?"
Ben rejected that idea. "Not without permission from security. Not to mention, 1: they're still upset with me for scaring off that rich boy, and 2: I don't think they'll be too keen on us taking the law into our own hands. Sort of… What about you? How come your robot can't pick up the readings of a single girl?"
"I would, so that I wouldn't have to come to you in the first place, but something is making Mazuma's sensors go haywire. She can't get a lock on anything."
"You're getting interference? Is it from Whimsley's security measures?"
"No. The interference is coming from somewhere else." Mazuma noted. "It is almost as if my scans are glitching."
Julie looked to Ben, who simply nodded. She looked back to Mazuma, and her eyes flashed green, something Billy noticed. Mazuma widened her eyes in surprise, before nodding to her.
"Uh… Mazuma, what's going on?" Billy asked his robo-bodyguard.
"Julie has requested I send what readings I could find to her."
"…She has?"
"Yes."
"Um…" Billy looked to Julie, not seeing any kind of device to receive that info. "To like, her phone, or something?"
"No, to her."
This baffled Billy, as he tried to think how Julie could have possibly sent a request. "Oh! I get it now. Her little pet is going to take the info."
Julie at the others flinched at the mention of that. Even Billy could tell that the atmosphere had suddenly grown more somber.
"No, Mr. Billions, I am just sending it to her."
"What? How can she send data requests and receive digital information? Unless…" He remembered the glowing green eyes. "Tennyson, is your girlfriend a cyborg now?"
"No." Ben sternly said.
"He's right, I detect no cybernetics within her. However, even with my glitching sensors, her readings tell me she is-"
"It's not important." Ben said bluntly. His tone was dead serious, to the point even Billy was taken aback. "So please drop it."
Billy decided to leave it at that, in no mood to open up whatever can of worms that was about. After that incohesive and awkward conversation, the group stood around as Julie supposedly processed the data given to her.
"Ben… these readings… they're similar to the mana of Ledgerdomain. But something about them is… off."
"Dark magic, maybe?"
"I don't know. I'm sending this to both Gwen and Hope. Maybe they can tell us."
"Can you triangulate the source?"
"Now that, I can do." Her eyes darted around. To someone beside her it looked as if she was randomly staring at walls and doors. "There, over by that far corner of the mansion. I think we found our missing friends."
"I knew Kaiba was hiding something." He tapped the comm. "Hey, Pacifica rescue team, we found something. We're sending you the coordinates, over." He handed over to Julie. "Gotta say Billy, that did make things go much quicker. We probably wouldn't have thought to scan for mana if it wasn't for Mazuma. Good job."
Billy sneered. "Oh yeah, Tennyson? Well, for your information… um… wait, were you being serious?" He asked.
"Um… Yeah? Is something wrong?"
"No…" Billy said in surprise, before puffing out his chest. "It's just… nice to see you finally acknowledging my capabilities. Mazuma is top of the line, after all."
"You flatter me, sir."
Ben rolled his eyes. "Ok, ego trip, I get it. Now do you want to save your megacrush or not?"
"Of course I do, how can you ask me- wait." Billy stopped himself, as the three Plumbers were chuckling and giggling at his response. They quickly ran off to the room.
"Told you." He heard Julie say to Ben.
Billy stood there for a moment. "…Grrrrrr…. You get back here, you jerks! Mazuma, come on! You three just made me trip up on my words is all! If you spread that around…." He hopped on his bodyguard to chase them down. However, as they ran after them, Billy thought to ask Mazuma something out of curiosity. "Mazuma, what were you about to tell me earlier? About Julie and your scans?"
"Her DNA only reads half human, sir. The other half is Galvanic Mechamorph."
When the game had begun, Preston had made no time having his geese avoid the fox. Even so, he had already lost one to Yugi, in spite of him only teaching the boy about the game today. It was likely he wasn't going to win this one. But he had to put in the effort to pull the wool over this boy's eyes.
Try as he might, he couldn't seem to trap Yugi's fox. But that was to be expected. The fox was far more reliable to play as, not nearly as restricted as the geese in terms of rules. It was something he admired about this game, ever since his father taught it to him when he was a child.
"Know this, son. You are the fox. You must always be the fox. Clever, cunning, and a deadly bite… the last one is metaphorical of course, Northwests do not bite people. Anyway, the geese are the common folk. Oh, they may be aggressive and completely savage, but no matter how high they fly, they will always be beneath you. Their ferocity is nothing to your intelligence and top status in the end." His father held the piece in front of his eyes. "Don't ever let them bring you down to their level. If any geese ever threaten to take you from your spot in the food chain, you show them exactly why you are a fox in the first place. Northwests don't lose."
He made sure to remember that well into his adult life. He was the fox. He would always come back on top, ready to put those of the lower classes under his heel. Which is why he was certain he would still take the entire game, even after losing this round. Sure, he may have not received the fox in the first round. Especially since he had a surefire way of obtaining the fox in the next two matches.
It wasn't long before the game ended, Preston having far too few geese to capture the fox. "Oh dear. Seems you took the first round. What a shame. Hopefully, I can take the next two."
Pacifica had been watching the first round, after which she had finally found her voice again, though it was still weak. "Dad, you… are the biggest idiot. Do… do you not see who that is?"
Preston seemingly did not hear her, his focus completely absorbed into the game. Pacifica guessed that his mind had been consumed. She could only hope the full force of her voice could snap him out of her trance.
"Although, I might have won if someone wasn't blabbering in the background."
Or he was just being a dick as usual. Pacifica briefly pondered letting him fuck himself over.
"Now then, since you wielded the fox on the last round, it is only fair that I use it for this one. We will toss another coin to determine the last round's wielder."
"Makes sense." His opponent smirked. Preston smirked back. This young fool had no idea that Preston was going to steal the victory from him.
"Still no luck?" Julie asked her boyfriend.
"It won't budge. Also, it stung me. Whatever this magic stuff is, it's protecting the door. Also warping its properties, probably. Either or, honestly."
Rook had been trying to scan the door for weak points. "Any word from Gwendolyn or Hope?"
"Nothing. They might be busy. Or time zones. Does Ledgerdomain match up with Earth time zones?" Julie tried doing the math in her head.
"Who cares? Can't we just blast down the door?" Billy yelled, tired of the small talk.
Ben shook his head. "We're risking enough as it is scanning everything. This… "dark mana" is making everything go haywire, so it gives us a chance to use our tech without being noticed. Blasting a hole here wouldn't be easy to explain. Not that it would work. Whatever's over this door would probably shield from that too. Then we'd just be making unnecessary noise."
"Oh yeah? How come your stuff isn't going crazy?" Billy crossed his arms.
"Let's just say my cousin's got us covered in that regard."
"I'M HERE! WHERE'S PACIFICA?! WHERE'S HER BASTARD FATHER?!" Sam came screaming around the corner. Danny followed right behind, huffing a bit.
"Right behind this ooky spooky door." Julie answered. Sam went to open it. "Whoa! No touchy. It's protected by some kind of magic. Hence the ooky spooky."
"That doesn't sound too bad. Me and my family deal with ooky spooky constantly." Danny replied.
"Not the same. Whatever it is, it's got heinous properties to it. Hold on to it too long and there's no telling what will happen."
"It's a very strong magic. Nothing any of you will do will get through that door." Kaiba said, drawing everyone's attention to him. Yugi's friends weren't far behind.
"Alright Kaiba, spill. Me and my crew already know there's some weird magic covering that door, and likely the room too. We need the full story here."
Sam marched up to Kaiba, fuming. "I knew you were up to no good. It's always the same with you business types, keeping important information from the public just because it'll damage your image. What do you know, scumbag?! Just what kind of danger is Pacifica in?!
But Kaiba completely ignored her, only answering Ben. "I told you before. The only thing you need to know is that we're here for damage control. (Sam: Hey, I'm talking to you!) Telling you anything else won't help you get past that door. (Sam: Listen to me, you damn suit! / Rook: Miss Manson, I believe the term is called "Know when to fold them".)"
"Kaiba, would you give it a rest with that cold shoulder treatment? Everyone knows telling a hero all the information, even if it's only a little bit, can help them." Jonouchi shoved past the mogul.
Kaiba swept his hand away. "If you ever used your brain to think logically, you'd know that there's nothing more they can do in this situation. It will also just serve to make things needlessly complicated afterward."
"Yeah, yeah, clam up as always. Listen Ben, what we're looking at here is shadow magic. The Egyptian pharaohs and royals used it back in the day to duel each other. Anyone who uses it has the power to affect people's minds in crazy ways, and even their soul. They even have the power to call monsters from some crazy dimension."
Julie nodded. "Sounds like pretty standard magic. But I can't seem to dispel this barrier with any of my anti-magic frequencies. Whatever "spell" or "enchantment" is surrounding this room is pretty potent stuff."
"It's a Yami no Game." Anzu said, her eyes obsessed with the ground. "Or a Shadow Game. A game designed to punish the souls of the wicked. Nothing can interfere until the game is over. It's the signature of any shadow magic user."
"That matches up with what Gwen just sent me- wait… yep, both Gwen and Hope. They're telling us to be on code red awareness. This mana is dangerous and powerful."
Ben turned back to Jonouchi. "Still, it helps. We know what we're dealing with now. All that's left is to figure out why the culprit did it. Which I'm assuming has something to do with Yugi."
"Wait Ben, please! Yugi's not in control of what he's doing! It's just… when he sees someone with an evil soul, the shadow magic takes him over. He's been trying to learn to control it, but-"
"Whoa, whoa! Anzu, hang on! We'll figure this out okay? I could tell he wasn't the kind of guy to do something like this. If you guys can tell me more, maybe we can stop this before it gets more out of hand."
Sam in the meanwhile, sat on the sidelines with a huff. A nudge from Danny brought her out of it. "Hey, I'm gonna see if I can phase through. Can you keep watch?" Sam nodded.
Anzu was telling the others of a previous event. "… so Yugi challenged him to a game where they had to untie knots in a tangled series of ropes to see which would drop my spare key. Yugi beat him easily, but the guy was a sore loser. He tried to attack, but Yugi's shadow magic easily paralyzed him. He was planning to destroy his soul outright, but I had managed to find him and talk him down. Even still, he inflicted a penalty game on the creep. He used the rope the guy was planning to tie me up with as sort of an ironic punishment. The guy would be forced to play tug-of-war with a monster for his soul. When Yugi came to his senses, he was horrified."
Rook cringed at the description of the punishment. "That is disturbing. That there is magic out there that causes such torture on a soul, makes me wonder why this pharoah would give his supposed friend this dangerous power."
"Well… after Yugi snapped out of it, a friend visited us… Shadi. He told us that Atem had foreseen that we'd be forced to encounter more magical threats in the future. He gave Yugi the ability to use shadow magic because he believed he could control it. He also told us that Yugi wasn't turned into a different person, his darker emotions were just brought out by the shadows. But he warned us that if Yugi didn't rein the magic in, it would split his mind in two, like Mari-… someone we know."
"All the more reason to get that door open. Jules, we might be able to risk pumping up the output on your frequencies-"
"GAAAAHHH!" They were interrupted as Danny was sent flying into a wall.
"Danny!" Sam ran to him, kneeling to see if he was alright. Ben came to check on him as well.
"Danny, what happened?"
"I uh… I tried to force it open. I guess I held on too long. I saw this vision of a golden, Egyptian looking eye staring at me. It shouted at me to not interfere, and I was flung out- I mean, back." Ben raised an eyebrow. Danny had a feeling that he knew the boy was actually using his powers, but he didn't need the others in the group knowing that.
"Welp, no sense in not trying. This door'll have to give out sooner or later!" Jonouchi approached it, rearing his leg back. "Always wanted to kick down a door like this."
Ben's eyes widened. "Jonouchi, wait, HOLD ON-"
THWACK. "AGH, MY ANKLE!"
'That sounded like Jonouchi!' Pacifica thought. The noise had interrupted the game for a brief moment, as Preston worriedly turned to the door.
"The people outside will not be able to interrupt our game, Preston." Yugi assured.
"Here, let me get in on this!" THWACK. "GAH, NOW MY ANKLE!"
'That was definitely Honda.' Pacifica wondered why they weren't able to make it through the door. Bill couldn't just shield doors in the waking world, right?
"You'd better be damn sure." Preston grumbled. But as he looked at the game in front of him, his worry turned to smugness. "Then again, you might be better off hoping they make it in. I've almost collected all the geese this round."
THWACK. "ARGH, MY OTHER ANKLE!" Yelled Jonouchi again.
'Okay, that clearly isn't working.' Pacifica decided letting her dad get tricked wasn't worth the trouble. "EARTH TO DAD! Are you not connecting the dots? That's clearly Bill Cipher!"
Preston froze at the name, finally hearing what she had to say. He looked back and forth from Yugi and Pacifica in a panic. Yugi simply looked confused.
"Bill… Cipher?"
"Think about it, Dad. A creepy guy with magic powers offers you a deal? Ring any bells?" She paused for a moment and twitched at her poor choice of words. "He's acting completely different from how I met him before, and to top it off, he talked to me in my mind. My mind. It has to be him!"
"N-no. It can't be him. He's dead!"
Yugi defended himself. "I don't know who this 'Bill' is, but I can assure you that I am not him."
"Oh come on! Don't think you can trick me! Who else could get into people's heads like this? Just what were you looking for in there, huh?"
"I only did that to help you. I saw none of your memories myself, I only stimulated your mind to remember moments that could bring you out of your traumatic memories."
"Then what's all this, then? Making deals like you always do to get something you want. You aren't fooling me!"
"We do seem to share some similarities. But I am still not him." Yugi closed his eyes. "However… if I am to be honest, the name does sound familiar to me, even though I have never heard the name before. The name emits a feeling of power and terror when I hear it. Also, a fair dose of insanity. It feels as if I should know him in my soul." He chuckles. "You are understandably worried. I don't blame you for calling me this creature, Pacifica. The only thing I can ask is that you can trust me and believe that I am not him."
Pacifica wasn't expecting this response. It was highly probable that he was Bill, but she was having second thoughts.
"I get it now." Preston clenched his fist. "You are trying to keep me from turning our life back to normal. You know that this boy can make everything the way it used to be, so you're trying to scare me into backing out. Well, it won't work!" He took his fox and jumped over Yugi's last possible piece. "This is our big break, and I will not let you squander it!" Pacifica only glared at him.
Yugi turned back to Preston. "It seems you've taken the round. Shall we toss the coin to determine the last fox player?"
Preston nodded. "We shall."
"Maybe if we threw our whole body into it!"
Preston noticed the noise and turned back to the door. "Must they persist in making so much noise?" Unbeknownst to his opponent, he was actually using the opportunity to take a different coin out of his coat.
"If I know my friends, Anzu will stop them-" Yugi paused, the thought of Anzu striking him. It was immediately followed by images of Jonouchi and Honda.
"Something wrong?" Preston asked, more out of annoyance than worry.
"N…No. It's nothing." He waved it off, and Preston flipped the coin.
"Ah hah! Heads! I guess that means the fox is mine."
Yugi stared at the coin. His eyes shifted up to Preston, his smile gone. He seemed to be studying the man, an implication that started to make Preston uncomfortable. Before he could shout at Yugi to cut it out, Yugi's smile returned. "So it is." Preston looked unamused. As he went to pick up his fox, Yugi suddenly continued. "Care to up the stakes, Preston?"
Preston gave him a funny look. "Really? Are you sure about that?" Once again, not out of worry, but of mere confusion.
"Why not? High stakes make a game all the more entertaining. Here's what I have in mind. If you lose, considering that you will go to jail, you will release custody of your daughter and give all your assets to her. If you win, I will give you… my soul."
All three Northwests gasped in shock. "Your… soul? Are you trying to say that you be in service to me forever?"
"Perhaps."
Preston grimaced. "I don't know…" He wasn't keen about betting what was left of his fortune.
"How about we sweeten the deal, then? For this last round, I will only use four geese."
Preston snorted. "FOUR geese? There's only one way to trap my fox in that case! Have you gone completely bonkers?" Preston laughed, then stretched his hand out. "Never mind boy, I'll take your wager."
"Yugi, hold on!" Pacifica shouted. "If it really is still you in there, you need to rethink this! My dad may be an idiot, but he can still be kind of crafty! For god's sake, this is your soul we're talking about!"
"I know. But it is my soul to bet." Yugi said, shaking Preston's hand. "Last round, start."
"AH, NOW MY SHOULDER!" Honda shouted as he stumbled back.
"Would you two idiots cut it out already?!" Anzu growled, pulling on the ears of Honda and Jonouchi. "This isn't helping!"
"Hmph. You should let them keep going. It's amusing to see them maim themselves. Most entertaining thing I've witnessed tonight." Kaiba said, however his stone-faced expression seemed to say the opposite.
"Trying to use ourselves as battering rams isn't going to cut it. I might be able to just walk in if I use Terraspin." Ben suggested.
Julie tilted her head. "I'm not sure if his species can shrug off this kind of mana."
Suddenly, shouting came from inside the "Guys, is that you out there?! I mean, I know Jonouchi and Honda are attacking the door and all, but-"
"Pacifica?" Ben went up to the door. "Are you alright? Last time we saw you, you weren't looking too good!"
"I'm fine now. I'm more worried about Yugi! He's been acting strange! He challenged my dad to some kind of game! They're in the final round! It's like he's been possessed!"
Yugi's friends ran up to the door. Jonouchi was the first to speak. "You're not too far off! He's been taken over by shadow magic!"
"I knew it, I-… wait, what the heck is shadow magic?"
Honda answered that. "What it says on the tin, Pacifica! Don't worry, that's still Yugi. It's just his worst traits are being brought out by the magic! Boy, sure hope we don't have to keep re-explaining that…"
"…Are… are you sure he wasn't possessed by a demon?"
"Uh…no. Pretty confident."
Anzu spoke up. "Can they hear us in there?"
"Trust me, all of us can hear you!"
"Yugi! You need to stop! Remember, this isn't you!"
"It looks like he's trying to ignore you! He seems distressed!"
"The shadow magic is making him think he's something he's not! Pacifica, listen, there's no way to stop the game now, but you can at least stop Yugi from doing something terrible!"
"What? What's he going to do?"
"He's going to destroy your parents' souls! That's the only penalty game the shadow magic thinks corrupted people deserve! You need to convince him to spare your parents! …Pacifica? Pacifica!"
"The mana field around the room just intensified. I think Yugi's doing this to block you out." Julie told them.
Ben tensed. "Let's just hope Pacifica caught enough of that to go off of."
"Anzu? Anzu! He's going to destroy what?!" Pacifica kept asking, to no avail. "Lousy magic door connection…"
Yugi reeled his hand back, which he had been pointing at the door. "I apologize, but that was getting distracting."
Preston grunted. "Well, maybe now you can actually make your next move. Not that it would be all that different from your last few turns. Just more running away."
"Well, I can't have your fox getting too close, now can I?" Yugi moved his piece.
"Understandable. The fox is the superior piece, after all." Preston gave chase.
"Actually, the geese are considered to be superior."
Preston paused. He seemed very sure about that fact. "W-well. To a novice, the idea of greater numbers seems enticing. But it all falls apart eventually."
"Not to a strategic player. With only four geese, it is challenging, yes. But not impossible to lull the fox into a trap."
Preston grumbled as he continued to go after Yugi's pieces, still not getting any of them. "The fox has the greater movement and options to capture the geese."
"Not necessarily. In fact, in previous versions of the game like its origin point in Scandinavia, an extra fox is given. It's called Halatafl there, you know?"
Preston stared at him in confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Much, if you were willing to think about it. If you bothered to know the game you challenged me with, you would have a better strategy to beat me. As it stands though, your moves are like those of a novice. Like a child, you gravitated towards a piece you thought had the most power. You aggressively rush to finish a game. You care little to think of both the little details or the bigger picture."
Preston clenched his teeth. "You're very arrogant for someone who's never played this game."
"Who told you that? Not me."
Preston froze.
"In fact, I can tell you quite a few things about this game. But the most important… is that I know of the 13 piece cheat." Preston's eyes widened. "Using only 13 geese is a disadvantage for the geese player. Less mistakes they can make before too many pieces are captured."
"Wha… but I… you…"
"It's as I told you before. I never told you that I never played Fox and Geese. You only decided to assume that." His smile grew even wider. "They call me the King of Games for a reason. Fox and Geese is such a simple game in comparison to all of the others in the world. Why would I not know this game?" The shadows were starting to grow longer, stretching to encompass the room. "Then again, you probably don't consider others unless it benefits you, don't you?"
Preston took notice of the shadows now surrounding them. "What's… what's going on?"
"Nothing that concerns you… yet. You should probably make your move."
Preston took some time, but he decided to continue playing, if only to keep his mind off of his own fear. He continued to chase the geese, but he could never get any closer to the pieces. He started to sweat, his brow furrowing in frustration. "Stop running!"
"You would like that wouldn't you? Because then you would have your prey."
Yugi stared into Preston, seemingly boring into his very soul. He darted his head down, trembling in fear. He tried to move his piece again, but for some reason it wouldn't move forward. No matter how much he forced it, it stayed put. "What… what are you doing? You're… you're cheating somehow!"
"That's rich, coming from you. No pun intended. Really though, the only cheating that's occurred is when you used that two headed coin." Preston gasped. "Oh yes, I knew you were influencing the results. A Shadow Game reveals one's true nature." Preston shouted as he witnessed the pieces in front of him change. They began to look like an actual fox and some geese. The fox growled at the birds. "It's funny. You think you're like the fox. But you have none of its strength, nor its smarts. The bottom of the barrel of foxes, if anything. You are a bully, targeting those that can't fend for themselves. You are a glutton, greedily scrambling for anything you can stuff in your maw. But most importantly of all, when the prey learns how they can outwit… overpower… and outnumber the fox… you show your true colors. You reveal how much of a coward you really are." Preston watched in horror as the geese began transforming again. Their forms grew, towering over him. Before long, they looked far more akin to winged demons than birds. His fox's ears drooped, whimpering. As if it moved on its own, Preston's hand moved the fox back. "And here it is. Your fear and guilt comes to light. These… "geese" are all those you and your family have stepped on. For so long they have been at the Northwests' mercy. But when they grow bigger than you, when they band together, you can crush them under your heel no longer. And you realize the truth about yourself." Preston found himself on the board itself, the much larger fox standing in front of him. He had no time to process this, as the demons stepped forward. He and his fox stepped back. "You are not a king, but a common thief." Step. "You live in luxury, but will never be satisfied." Step. "And in spite of all those who had come to revel in your success," Step. "Even with so many people surrounding you, adoring you…" Step. "When you need people to help you the most…" Preston nearly lost his footing, realizing he was at the edge of the board. "You are alone."
"What… are you?"
Yugi appeared right in front of him, emerging from the floor. He got very close to Preston's face, his eyes piercing through him. Preston moved back, trying his best not to fall off. Yugi's smiled; his eyes seemed as if they contained fire. He laughed, and Preston felt he was going to go insane. "I am… the winner."
"Preston! Preston! What are you doing?!"
"Huh?! Wha-?!" Preston flailed around at the sound of his wife's yelling, shocked to find the entire room back to normal. No demons, no animals, no shadows. He grasped at his sweaty forehead as if it had all been a bad dream.
"Preston, what on earth happened?! You had him on the run, but then you just started moving your piece towards yourself! It's as if you wanted him to trap you!"
"Priscilla, what in god's name are you-" He cut himself off as he witnessed the board. His fox, surrounded in all possible paths by unblockable geese. He had lost. "That's… that's impossible. My mind. YOU MESSED WITH MY MIND!"
"We played a shadow game, Preston. Where one must not only focus on the game but take care not to be consumed by the shadows themselves. You couldn't, thus you could no longer think clearly. Your body moved based on your fear rather than coherent thought."
"What?!"
"When you realized I wasn't some hapless fool who knew nothing about the game, your confidence and will cracked, allowing the shadows to take over. All that bravado thinking you were superior to me, only for it to crumble so easily… your fragile ego led you to lose." Preston clenched his fists. "And since you lost, you and your wife will turn yourself in, release custody of your daughter, and give over all your assets to her."
"Like hell… you think you can just cheat me like that? Preston Northwest?!" He tore a trophy rapier from the wall. "I'll show you what happens when you try to take my wealth away from me!" He lunged for Yugi.
"I knew you couldn't play by the rules." Yugi stated. A golden eye shined from his forehead, blinding Preston. "The gate of darkness have opened. You will suffer a penalty."
The fox piece transformed back into a fox, pouncing on Preston with great ferocity. It growled, its mangled teeth dripping drool as it stared at him. This time Pacifica and Priscilla could see it too,
"You have shown just how despicable your soul really is. The only thing that would dare even touch it is a desperate and hungry creature… and your fox has most certainly mirrored that from you. It will feast on your soul, destroying it." As it bared its teeth, ready to lunge, Preston could only cover his eyes and hope that things ended quickly.
"STOP!"
Yugi and the fox paused, staring at Pacifica in confusion. "So this is it, huh? You're really going to stoop to his level?
"I would think you would be supportive of this."
"Yeah, you would think so. But despite how much I hate them… I already told myself I wasn't going to be like them. Not anymore. And standing by, watching as some idiot gets his soul devoured? That's something that would make me feel like them." She gestured to her father. "This man and his wife have tried to control my life, to keep me from being anything more than another member of a cruel legacy. And I want to get back at them for it. But I'm going to do that by living. Living my life the way I want to. Not by taking theirs as retribution."
Yugi stared at her, no emotion on his face. "That's… big of you, Pacifica." He looked to be thinking on her words but shook off the thoughts. "Even still, Preston must face what he's done."
"Oh, really? And when you've destroyed this guy's soul, how are you going to feel afterward? I heard your friends. They said this wasn't who you are. And I'm inclined to believe them."
Yugi jolted again. He forced his eyes shut. 'She's… she's right. This isn't me. It's just the shadow magic!'
However, Yugi's thoughts soon changed. 'But it could be me. If I let this slide, I'll return all the pain he's inflicted on others. Every wrong he's committed will be answered for.'
Pacifica watched as he conflicted with himself. "Come on, Yugi. I know I've only known you for a few hours, but I could at least tell you and your friends were close. Anyone with a brain could. If they were so adamant about you not being this kind of person, would they really want you to go through with this?"
'No… they wouldn't. I don't know if I could ever look them in the eyes again. Jonouchi, Honda… Anzu…'
'But… but then again, Anzu stopped me from trying to help her. That guy was going to… I was just trying to protect her and anyone else he tried to lay his hands on. My friends keep getting hurt, and the only way to save them is to destroy anybody who tries to harm them.'
Yugi's face had a thousand-yard stare. Pacifica needed just one more thing to snap him out of it. And she knew just the bit of personal advice to do it. "Yugi. Most importantly, above everything else… you need to ask if you can live with yourself if you do this. I wasn't always the nicest person. Even though it can be traced back to my parents, I still did a lot of bad things. Things I can't take back. I remember what I did every now and then and I find it hard to stare at myself in the mirror. Please, Yugi. Would you be able to look at yourself in the mirror if you went through with this?"
Something in Yugi seemed to click at that point. '…No… No, I wouldn't! Atem believed I could bring this power under control. He saw something in me that was able to handle this magic. If I go through with this, I won't just disappoint him and all my friends… but myself too. But… we can't let Preston get away, he has to pay… No. No, that's the shadows talking. It's influencing my thoughts… It won't go away unless I pacify it… I think I know how to end this.'
The golden glowed brightly again. "PENALTY GAME!"
"No!" Pacifica shouted, before she was interrupted by a tree bursting out in front of her. Preston flinched again as more trees surrounding him. When he unshielded his eyes, he found himself in some unknown dark forest. The trees almost seemed like they could touch the moon. He heard Yugi's voice, realizing the boy had appeared in front of him.
"DARK FOREST MANIA!"
"Wha-… where am I?"
"This forest is like a prison. Its darkness covers every inch, preventing anyone from seeing too far ahead. Your soul will wander it indefinitely, unable to find an escape. Until you realize what it is you've lost sight of, you yourself will be lost in the darkness forever." Yugi faded away.
"W-wait! Come back! You can't just leave me here! WAAAAAIIIIT!"
From the outside, Preston seemed to be stuck in a trance-like state. Pacifica looked back and forth from Yugi to him, worried about what he had done.
Yugi's eyes changed back to their usual softness. "He's not dead. I've put him in a situation where he'll be forced to come to terms with himself." He looked to Priscilla, who was now trying to shake Preston awake. "You should take this opportunity as well to rethink how you've lived your life. Odds are, it'll be something you have to focus on for a long while." As Yugi finished, he was hit by a heavy migraine. He fell onto one knee. Pacifica ran over to him. "I'm… I'm sorry, Pacifica… I wish you'd never seen me like that. You were right. That wasn't me… To think I almost destroyed someone again…"
Pacifica gave a small smile. "Hey, we pulled through, didn't we? Besides, giving my dad a reality check was pretty cool, at least."
Yugi smirked back, but it quickly turned back into a frown. "Pacifica… how well you've taken all our strange quirks… your bravery in jumping into scary situations… it really makes me cuious. And also concerned… Just who is this 'Bill' person you thought I was?"
Pacifica grimaced. "He's not a person."
"Well… what is he then?"
"He's dead, that's what. It was silly for me to think he was back. Honestly, if life is at least somewhat fair, you'll never find out. So don't worry about it."
Yugi wasn't all that relieved by her words. But before he could press on, the door flung open. At first, Pacifica and Yugi were expecting it to be their friends. Instead, it turned out to be all of Whimsley's security, barreling into the room. As they surrounded Preston, the head of the squad came forward, putting his hand on the man's shoulder. "Mr. Northwest, we're gonna have to ask you to come with us."
Pacifica got a little nervous. Her dad was probably going to drool and keel over in response, and that might complicate things. To her surprise however, he actually spoke. "Yes. Of course. Lead the way." His voice was almost monotone.
Priscilla was in shock. "Preston? Preston, you can't be serious!" Another guard came up to her.
"We're going to have to ask that you come with us too, ma'am." She reluctantly complied.
"I thought he was in a trance." She whispered to Yugi.
Yugi replied. "He is, but his mind is on autopilot. The shadow magic will make him hold up his end of the deal."
The guards came to the two young adults. "Miss Pacifica, I believe your friends are waiting for you. You sir, on the other hand, will need to come with us for questioning." Before he could take Yugi, Pacifica stood in front of him.
"I can tell you what happened." She said. "Please sir, Yugi's just as much of a victim as I am in this." It wasn't a total lie.
The guard sighed. "Listen, miss, I know I probably shouldn't tell you about this, but we got really crazy readings that made the whole island's security measures go nuts. We need to make sure to question everyone about this."
"It was my dad. Yugi only came in to help me out of my 'episode'. My dad chose to take his anger out on him, and they got into a fight. That's when he decided to use some magical weird thing he brought from home. It backfired on him though."
"Hmm… That… only makes me hella more suspicious." Pacifica realized it wasn't one of her best explanations. The guard crossed his arms. "Look, can I just take him? Otherwise, I have to take you in too on suspicion, and that makes both our nights longer." That statement gave Pacifica an idea.
"Then how about we make both our nights shorter? My dad's already being taken in, probably for child abuse… who's to say we can't just add something to the list? After all, if this guy right here is just an innocent bystander, that would mean you only have to process two people, right? Not as much paperwork. Plus, my family is from Gravity Falls. The place with all the weird stories? Who's to say he didn't get a magical artifact of some kind?"
"Uh… I mean…"
His partners were buying into it. "If we take him in too… we'll miss the party over at C Block. But only two people, and we just might make for Frank to bring out the strong stuff." The woman said.
The guy continued. "I'd rather be stuck with a hangover tomorrow morning after a crazy night, then tired as hell after an entirely boring one."
That seemed to do it. "Alright, you've convinced me. But I'm writing down what you've said as a being a witness, okay?" Pacifica nodded in response.
Yugi raised an eyebrow as they walked away. "And that wasn't stooping to your dad's level, how?"
"Hey, he does that kind of stuff for selfish reasons. I did it because I wanted to help someone else. That's not Preston level, that's Stan level."
Yugi gave her a funny look. 'Not sure if I want to meet this "Stan".'
"Yugi!" Before he could realize it was Anzu shouting for him, he was pulled into a very tight hug. "I'm sorry. I was supposed to help you, but I couldn't-"
"It's my fault, Anzu. I should've told them from the beginning. Before the island, even."
"But I had to tell everyone, not just Jonouchi and Honda. I-"
"It's okay. Besides, Pacifica managed to talk some sense into me."
"Hey, mind loosening your grip, Anzu? Some of us also wanna strangle the guy with friendship." Jonouchi said, right beside them. Honda had moved in on the other side.
"Jonouchi… Honda… I'm sorry, I-"
Honda gave him a small shake on the shoulder. "Hey, enough feeling sorry for ourselves. You're still our friend, so let's stop moping, alright? Why don't you just start from the beginning…"
Pacifica decided to give them some space for now and walked away. Ben was there to greet her outside the door. "Well, I've had hectic nights before, but that one was certainly unique. You okay?"
"Thanks to Yugi. And I couldn't have helped him in return if it weren't for you guys."
"You can thank Billy for that. Without him, we might have never found the room y'all were in."
"Is that so?" Pacifica turned to the pint-sized billionaire, who immediately became two hundred percent more flustered. "Thank you, Billy. You've really done a lot for me tonight. I couldn't ask for a better friend."
"Ah, well, you know… that's me, great friend dude… I mean, the dude who's a great friend, uh-" He immediately shut up when Pacifica gave him a hug. When she released him, he looked so red he might melt.
"Rich boy has stopped functioning. I repeat, rich boy has stopped functioning." Julie said.
Ben smiled back at her. "Copy that."
Rook chuckled. "It reminds me of a farmer's daughter I had an infatuation with, back when I still had my bi'nthak."
Ben laughed at that. "I think we all had our first hopeless puppy love crushes at some point."
"I don't want to hear it, Samantha! We told you to stay out of trouble!"
"It wasn't on purpose! Trouble just sort of found me, okay!"
Pacifica watched as Sam was fighting with two adults. Judging by how the conversation was going, these folks were her parents. Danny was standing off to the side, rubbing the back of his head nervously. Pacifica walked over, hoping she could clear some things up. Sam shouldn't have to take any kind of fall for this.
"Excuse me," They turned to her. "But are you Sam's parents?"
Sam's father asked. "Why yes. May I ask, who are you?"
"Pacifica Northwest."
Both Mansons guffawed. "Northwest?! As in, Preston Northwest?!"
"Uh, yeah…" At least he knew her father. Maybe she could influence him to let Sam off easy.
Instead, he pulled his daughter closer. "That pompous jerk?! I don't care how high and mighty you think you are, if you're anything like him, if you've said anything to my daughter-"
Okay, she wasn't expecting that. "Wait, you hate my dad?"
"Hate him?! Pamela and I loathe his guts! That windbag always bragged about how "his daddy could buy and sell us", and how he was going to put the Northwest name on top of the world. He never missed an opportunity to try and embarrass me. And he would always go on and on, bragging about how many people he and his family tricked and swindled!"
Pamela growled. "He tried to woo me numerous times, but the only thing he ever talked about was himself. When I ended up marrying Jeremy instead, he went and won a wife from a yachting competition. Who even still does things like that these days? I even had the displeasure of meeting that airhead fishface." Sam was looking at her parents, stunned. They never spoke like this before. Pamela quickly turned and snapped at Pacifica. "What are you here for? Come to continue the tradition with my daughter? I won't have it." Both she and Sam's dad scowled at her.
"Whoa, whoa! Mom, Dad, stop!" Sam pulled out of Jeremy's arms. "Pacifica isn't like either of her parents. She's honestly really cool. Look, what you guys were getting on my case for? With the Clarabelle girl? Pacifica and I were the good guys. Clarabelle's the one who started it."
"I can vouch for her." Pacifica confirmed. "The girl and her two cronies dumped an entire bowl of punch on her. They were the ones who started things. I chased them off and helped Sam get cleaned up. She wasn't trying to start trouble."
The Mansons looked at her strangely. "A Northwest helping someone out of the goodness in their heart? I find that hard to believe."
"Trust me, Dad. The apple falls far from the tree. In fact, she…" Sam stopped, looking at Pacifica. "Can… can I tell them?"
Pacifica instantly knew what she was talking about. "Go ahead. I trust you."
Sam nodded, before pulling her parents down and whispering into their ears. Their faces soon changed from scowling to appalled.
"Oh my goodness…" Pamela covered her mouth with her hand.
"I always knew Preston was awful, but I didn't think he was such a sick bastard." Jeremy shook his head. "You really helped my daughter? And you're sure Miss Clarabelle was the aggravator?"
"On my life, I'm not lying to you." She looked straight into his eyes.
Jeremy sighed, and it finally dawned on him how quick he was to think of his own daughter as the aggressor. "I'm sorry, Sam. It was wrong for us to assume that you started such an incident."
Pamela placed a hand on Sam's shoulder. "We'll have a word with Clarabelle's parents. We know them, and they are far more reasonable people than you might think." Sam only turned her head away, and her parents frowned sadly. Yet again, something else that seemed to push their daughter away from them.
Still, Jeremy knew he could at least do something to make it up to her. "Pacifica, as I understand, your parents will not be able to take care of you for the rest of the week… and likely forever after that. But in any case, you can stay with us if you like. It might be a bit crowded, but it's the least we can do after what you've done for our daughter."
"Excuse me, Pacifica?" Pacifica was interrupted before she could even answer. Adding to the list of surprises, Horace Whimsley himself was there to greet her. "Could I talk with you for a moment?"
She looked back at the Mansons. "I'll uh, get back to you in a sec."
The two walked away, to have a private conversation. "I must greatly apologize. My security nearly mucked up this entire situation, and you almost paid for it."
Pacifica shook her head. "It's fine. Luckily, I had some good friends to help me out."
"About that. Considering that my island is like its own sovereign nation, transferring your father and mother from here back to the States to be brought to court has caused some complications. You see, some of our other guests have come forward and accused him of stealing, thus things have become far more complicated. They are obviously not fit to take care of you, one way or another. But we would rather not put you through an international tabloid incident while the charity event has only just started. I was hoping someone here could take care of you. But while your friends are good people, none of them are necessarily certified to be taking care of you." He gestured back to them. "Mature they may be, but they are still teens and young adults. And because you are below the age of eighteen, you are legally still a child. As we are both from the States, I am only confident in you staying with an adult who has experience raising children. Otherwise, I will need to ask you to stay in the under my supervision for the time being."
Pacifica nodded, understanding the worry. "The Mansons offered to take care of me."
"A better option by far, but I am worried by their shaky relationship with their own daughter, as well as their uninvited guest. Do you know anyone else? Otherwise, I'd say it would be best to stay in my company until then."
While Pacifica understood he had a point, and that it might sit easier with the authorities if she was actually under care by a parent, she wasn't keen on staying with Whimsley. But if the Mansons couldn't take care of her, who else could? She could say Stan or Soos, but uh… neither of them probably fitted official parameters. Or anyone from Gravity Falls, really. 'Sorry Dipper, Mabel. Might not be coming back just yet.' Other than them, Yugi and his friends, Ben's group and Billy, there wasn't anyone else who…!
"What about Bruce Wayne?"
"Bruce Wayne? He does have experience with adopting, but I'm afraid…"
"I've already met him earlier this evening. He even gave me a therapy card." She took it out. "He wouldn't be against watching me for a little bit, right?"
"Honestly, Pacifica, I would prefer keeping a closer eye on you after all the stress you've been through. It would also be a little less on Mr. Wayne's shoulders-"
"You shouldn't worry so much about me." Whimsley and Pacifica were shocked to find Bruce Wayne already there. "Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was merely checking on the group that was so concerned with Pacifica's safety. If she needs a place to stay though, I can offer that. After what she's been through tonight, how could I not?"
"Mr. Wayne, I simply couldn't ask you to deal with something like.'
"You say that as if it's a burden. Really, Mr. Whimsley, I insist."
"But I would rather make sure she is alright myself-"
"She would do far better with someone she's familiar with, especially when she barely knows you. I appreciate your concern, Whimsley, but I can take care of her."
Pacifica smiled. "Thanks, Mr. Wayne. I know things like this should probably be resolved sooner rather than later, but I need some time to process this. With my dad being arrested, I'm not going to be living with them anymore, and I think I'm going to be inheriting their fortune…" She actually knew for sure she was but left that tidbit out. "It's a lot of stuff I don't want to think about just yet. Besides, you're the only one I've met tonight I haven't gotten the chance to know."
"I understand. I'll let Alfred know we're going to have a guest staying with us. Why don't you go back to your friends? Spend some more time with them before the night is over." Pacifica nodded again, running off to see them. Bruce turned back to Whimsley with a frown. "What in the hell is the matter with you Whimsley? She was clearly getting uncomfortable with your insistence."
"Well, excuse me, Mr. Wayne. I simply wanted to ensure the opposite."
"Not to mention, the case on Preston should start to be handled immediately. Not delayed."
"As I said, I'm only trying to make things comfortable for the girl. She's been through enough as it is. We'll make sure he is brought to justice."
"Mmhmm." He walked away, obviously unsatisfied with the man's explanation. With Vlad's group foiled for now, and Preston in custody, Bruce knew that while he was still here, he had to find out what Whimsley was hiding.
"Kaiba!" Kaiba wasn't surprised when Pacifica came running up to him. She had checked up on every other clique in this little "herd", so it was only a matter of time before she found him. "I… I want to thank you. Ben just told me that you also helped out in searching for me."
"Things were going to get noisier if this incident persisted. I preferred that it wouldn't."
"Don't we all?" She laughed. "Even still, I feel like have to apologize that you always have to deal with my noise, so…"
"Pacifica." She stared at Kaiba, who was now looking at her straight in the eye. Apologize? For facing such adversity and coming out on top? And lose every ounce of dignity she had? He had to set her straight. Not that it mattered, he simply didn't want to have to deal with her turning spineless. That was all.
"Life is at its core, a game. A harsh game where you can win or lose anything at any time. Above all else, it gives you one chip to win that game with… the chip of life. Some would think that means you have to protect it at all costs, to never risk it at all… but that isn't the truth. To truly come out on top in this long, twisted game, one has to be willing to bet their chip of life on their most important moves and crucial pieces. Your father thought he could bet your chip of life as he saw fit. He was never willing to risk his own chip on his goals, his winning strategy. And in trying to protect his chip of life, he only ended up losing it on someone else's terms. Meanwhile, you've adapted to every blow thrown your way, gambled your chip in all the right ways, and have come out on top. I only provided the game between you and that idiot suitor. You were the one who crushed him. I helped this group find you quicker, but you were the one who managed to stop Yugi. Not them. An impressive feat on its own. If you say sorry to me now, just for having the will to take victory in your grasp, you throw away your self-respect pointlessly. Don't ever apologize for having the resolve to win."
The others' attention had been drawn to the speech as well. Yugi and his friends, finally having emerged from the room, only sweat-dropped at Kaiba's usual demeanor. Ben and his friends looked on in confusion, while Billy smiled in agreement (though he didn't get it as much as he thought he did). Sam could only give another scowl, not buying any of it, while Danny made sure to "hold her back". But Pacifica? She stared at him in awe, sparkles in her eyes. "Okay."
Bruce cleared his throat. "If all of you have recovered, Mr. Whimsley is going to be making a speech tonight before the night ends. Shall we head back to the ballroom?"
Everyone followed him, most of them just wanting this night to wrap. Kaiba realized that he had missed his opportunity to tell Whimsley off, but it didn't bother him oddly. Perhaps it was because there was finally an interesting reason to stay on this island.
"So. How did it go?"
"Exactly as I thought. Vlad completely screwed things by inviting that idiot and couldn't even keep him under control."
"That fool. Always setting his sights so low. And Batman?"
"It's obvious he's on the island. Security here is garbage. And Deadshot told me that the Powerpuffs were coincidentally alert and around, very soon after our meeting took place. It doesn't take a genius to know he was listening in on us. I already have contingencies in place to combat any "evidence" they have on me."
"Good. And the compound?"
"I told those buffoons it was "safe in one of my facilities". Then I pretended to take the operation over by force. The compound should actually be on its way with Deathstroke. And the tests involving Chemical X by itself were all very enlightening."
"Excellent. You've truly proved your progress. The Light is impressed."
"Thank you, Mr. Luthor. But I could never have made it this far without you."
"Ah, but you've taken my teachings and exceeded where your fellow students have failed. That is why you are being considered to join the inner circle, so soon after you've joined. And please, you may call me Lex when we're alone, Princess."
Princess's heart went aflutter. Where her "daddy" had stagnated her growth, Lex had been like a true father to her, pushing her to realize her greater potential. She wasn't a Chemical X freak, she was something even greater. Human. That was why she was a step ahead of the Powerpuffs now. Why she no more desired to be something she wasn't, instead of herself. Why she was going to stand atop their corpses when The Light conquered this world.
"Return when you please. You've deserved that vacation."
"Thank you, Lex. But I think I'll also be taking care of business, not just pleasure." Her tone darkened. "Whimsley is even more suspicious than we thought."
"If he proves to be an obstacle to the light, instead of an asset… end him."
"Of course."
"Ladies and Gentlemen! I'm honored that you were all able to make it tonight."
Whimsley spoke before a crowd of all the island's guests, a spotlight shining on him.
"Now I know that people have been talking of some troubling rumors, but not to worry! Everything is fine and taken care of! I can assure you no other problems will occur on the island!"
Princess had rejoined Vlad and Fist, who only glared at her.
"Let us leave behind our worries and focus having a good time! As well as the people we shall help through the charity itself!"
Preston was back in a holding facility. His eye twitched slightly.
"This first day has been a blast, and I can tell you the coming week will be even greater!"
Pacifica and her newfound friends sat together, enjoying some non-alcoholic cider.
"Let us all make a toast! To what will truly be an eventful spring break!"
As the last few guests left, Whimsley remained in the lobby for a little bit longer. When he was sure there were no stragglers, he left. Heading for his quarters, he told his servants not to disturb him for any reason.
Entering his room, soundproofed and rather bare, he felt his stomach become uneasy. He spoke. "Did… did I do well, Master?"
"YOU DID ADEQUATE." A robotic voice answered back. A shiver went up his spine. "WE COLLECTED QUITE A SURPLUS OF DATA. BUT YOU HAVE HANDLED THE EVENTS OF TONIGHT IN A LESS THAN STELLAR WAY."
"I apologize, master. But it's hard to keep everyone on the island without doing it in a suspicious way. Perhaps if we actually had proper security-" He felt pressure around his neck.
"YOU DARE QUESTION ME?"
"No! No!" He choked. "I'm sorry, master, I meant no disrespect! Please do not replace me!"
The grip on his throat released, and he fell to his knees. "THE NATURE OF THE ISLAND NOT ONLY ATTRACTS VILLAINS, BUT HEROES AS WELL. WE MAKE IT SEEM ENTICING TO BOTH SIDES, TO COLLECT MAGICAL DATA. BUT NONE OF IT IS ANY I HAVEN'T SEEN BEFORE. DISAPPOINTING. WHICH IS WHY WE INVITE THE NOT-SO-SUPER AS WELL. AND JOYOUS DAY, WE HAVE FOUND MUCH INTERESTING RESULTS. IN PARTICULAR, I AM INTERESTED IN THIS DARK MAGIC SURROUNDING THE SPIKY HAIRED BOY. BUT ONE STOOD ABOVE ALL THE REST. THE BLONDE GIRL."
"Pa… Pacifica Northwest, master?" He asked.
"YOU CONVINCING HER TO STAY, EVEN IF YOU WERE UNABLE TO OBTAIN TEMPORARY CUSTODY OF HER, IS THE ONLY REASON I HAVEN'T KILLED YOU, DESPITE YOUR MISTAKES. THE ENERGY REMNANTS SURROUNDING HER… IT IS EVEN GREATER THAN MAGIC. WE SHALL KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON HER FROM THIS POINT ON." A small green worm began wriggling out of Whimsley's collar. "THESE HEROES AND VILLAINS… THEY COME TO THE ISLAND THINKING THAT THERE IS SOMETHING BIGGER AT PLAY. ONLY TO FIND YOU, AND BE DISAPPOINTED. NEVER DO THEY THINK TO LOOK FOR SOMETHING SMALLER…" The worm freed himself. His body appeared as a caterpillar. His eyes were like that of a mantis. His mandibles were more fit to be an ant's. And there was a small device at the center of his body, that flashed every time he spoke.
"NEVER DO THEY THINK TO LOOK FOR MISTER MIND."
END OF PART ONE
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Oh, snap! Hope you don't mind mister, cause it's Mister Mind!
Firstly, a note:
(1) Yami Yugi Season 0 Theme
Alright, now that that's outta the way- so some things to note. The days coming will probably consist of less chapters than Day 1. They'll be five or six at best. Secondly, I might end up going back and rewriting a few scenes from the first nine chapters before I move on. Writing them with a lot of space in between, there were bound to be hiccups in the continuity, and I want to make sure some things are clear. Also, typos and other mistakes. Most importantly, I might try to rewrite that Dipper flashback in Chapter 3. Think I need to make sure it's not a case of r/menwritingwomen. I feel a little uneasy reading it, so I'd like to research romance writing and adjust it a little bit. Just for peace of mind, honestly.
Let's talk reviews!
Gwencaster- Pacifica and Sam! Siblings separated at birth? You make the call! Also, it's called the purple realm- "SILENCE!" I'm just saying…
Honestly, I don't think Kai even pulls off those short shorts. So last season, really.
Paranormal John- It was… okay. Honestly, I won't hold it against anybody for liking Omniverse, much less an episode with some great Secret Saturday fan-service. But… I will say Ben's weird crush on Drew was bizarre and kind of dumb though, and a little uncomfortable. And he's still kind of treated like an idiot… and acts like one too. Sometimes I wonder if they think 16-17 year old Ben is just two 5 year old Bens in trench coat. 10 year old Ben in Omni's just one.
A very angry ravage- I don't know anything about that, but what I do know is he's got everything to do with the Disney live action remakes. It's all a conspiracy, people.
And thus, Day 1 comes to a close. That's all I've got to say this time around. See you again in Day 2!